Throwaway analysis tool

Manipulating the data in a database used to be difficult. With the introduction of the right infrastructure it became close to trivial to write a dedicated query. It got so cheap that for simple things, we can now afford to write it, use it once, and then throw it away.

A query over a software system should be as cheap and easy. So should building a dedicated visualization. And so should building a dedicated interactive browser. All you need is the right skills and proper infrastructure.

Moose offers this type of infrastructure. Having such an infrastructure by your side will make you more bold in trying things out, simply because they are cheap. First, this leads to hands-on learning how to map abstract ideas to concrete analyses. Second, every once in a while, what starts as a throwaway might turn out to be reusable in other contexts. This is when the initial prototyping effort can be transformed into a more structured tooling buildup.